From beginning, Hinrich cleans up

October 02, 2003|By K.C. Johnson, Tribune staff reporter.

After Wednesday's morning practice session, Kirk Hinrich picked up stray basketballs at the Berto Center and returned them to the ball rack.

That's not the only way Hinrich's rookie season will be different from that of Jay Williams, who often skipped the rookie duty to deal with the media as peers Lonny Baxter and Roger Mason Jr. did the clean up.

On one level, Hinrich's entry to the NBA is similar to that of Williams--a high draft pick from a powerhouse college program looking for playing time.

But Hinrich's recognition of his place in the pecking order--he will be buying doughnuts for breakfast once veterans report Friday--speaks to the major difference between this season and last. Williams entered as the savior. Hinrich is here as a supplement.

"I think everybody was expecting a lot out of [Jay]," Hinrich said. "Coming in, he had this huge name.

"For me, I'm not worried about anything because my expectations are higher than any people will put on me. My role will be to work hard every day and contribute any way I can to make us a better team."

Like Williams at Duke, Hinrich had plenty of NBA players--Scot Pollard, Danny Manning, Jacque Vaughn--return to Kansas to tell him about the transition.

But Hinrich played one more season of college basketball than Williams and coach Bill Cartwright believes Hinrich benefited from something more.

"He has played four years at point guard," Cartwright said. "That was a disadvantage for Jay. [Duke] wasn't that kind of system.

"A lot of guys go through the process of learning how to play in the league. They have to learn how to be aggressive and not be intimidated by the guys who you've watched on TV.

"Kirk has all those qualities already. He is aggressive defensively. He does push the ball up. He is an assist guy. He can penetrate. He's good at screen-and-roll. It's almost something you don't really want to talk about, but I think he has a chance to be really good."

Hinrich struggled with his shot during summer-league play but showed flashes of dominant defensive ability. After just two days of training camp, coaches already are talking about his fearlessness and aggressive play.

Jamal Crawford is clearly the starter. But that doesn't stop Hinrich from challenging him, something Cartwright embraces and Crawford has noticed.

As the only rookie on the roster, Hinrich definitely will win in two categories. He will pick up more basketballs and buy more doughnuts than anyone else.

Layups: Eddy Curry sat with a sore left hamstring. Cartwright hopes he's back "later this week." . . . With the first exhibition game on Wednesday, Cartwright is only having four days of double sessions.